Hello all,
I have a 1970 f-100 4x4 that I have stripped down to nothing and started building, I plan to turn the original 360 fe to a 445 FE with help from Survival motor sports, I am planning to keep the stocker four barrel intake C5AE, and the stock iron heads C8AE-H, would like suggestions on cam specs, not looking four a hydraulic roller cam cause I don’t want to spend the money, I also would like suggestions on a clutch for my NP435 4speed, I’m planning on running 35” tires and 18” wheels disc brake conversion has already happened, as well as power steering I’ve reached out to Barry and he states that 450hp is no problem with some good bowl work and iron heads. Just reaching out to y’all?

 

If your stroking the motor why would you use those heads? There are better flowing heads out there and your going to rebuild yours anyway. Look for a set of mid rise heads. Ditch the cast iron manifold for aluminum if will save alot of weight and flow better. Roller rockers are one of the best upgrades that you can do for these motors. Centerforce clutches and flywheels are good way to go. Just adding cubic inches and bolting on the 360 stuff won't give you the results that a stroker motor is capable of.

 

I know Barry at Survival can do some amazing things, but you'd be better spending your money on a set of Aluminum heads and intake in my opinion. For a cam, are you looking for more torque at low RPM, or mid range? I went with Lunati for my hyd roller, but I want all the torque at low RPM. All depends what you want to do with the truck.

 

Ditch the stock heads and intake manifold. I'd be surprised if when you reached out to Barry at Survival and he advocated keeping both the stock intake and heads. I can see keeping the heads with some work on them but not the intake manifold.

I have a 431 FE stroker with some work done to the cast iron D2TEAA heads.
The Edelbrock Performer RPM P/N 7105 FE Intake Manifold is $499.95 at Summit (wow these have gone up in price the last few years)

I got the following dyno numbers on my 431 cu. in. motor so 450HP on the 445 with iron heads certainly seems reasonable.
Carb
415HP @ 4400RPM
535ftlb TQ @ 3900RPM

FiTech
415HP @ 4700RPM
530ftlb TQ @ 3700RPM

If you haven't already done so, take a look in the FE & FT big block v8 engine forum for additional suggestions and to solicit feedback. The FEpower.net forum is another great place for advice. Lykins Motorsports has quite a few stroker configurations posted in the FE Engine Dyno Results forum and Survival (Barry_R) also has a lot of good info up there.

 

With edelbrock performer rpm intake and aftermarket heads like bbm, trickflow, survival, etc you'll definitely get more hp at higher rpm. Will any of these parts help below say 4500 rpms?....probably not a lot so it depends on your goals. I like the aluminum intake mainly because it's so much easier to remove and install. Carefully eyeball the intake's dryfit before sealing and bolting it down...often need a little machining to fit correctly.

Roller cams are nice...no chance for bad cam break in but also for more mpg. They let you run modern oil which I'm convinced I got nearly 1 more mpg switching from 10w30 high zinc oil to 10w30 motorcraft synthetic blend. So if you plan a lot of miles, might consider roller cam.

Probably stating the obvious but definitely ask Survival about their cam recommendations. They can make sure you have the best cam for your build along with the right lifters, rockers, push rods, springs, etc. All they do is build FE's. A custom cam (flat tappet or roller) is definitely worth it to match your build.

For clutch, I have a RAM 98769 and it holds my stroker motor when pulling our 10k lb camper. Seems to take hold smoothly. Also, I replaced the factory cast flywheel with a steel wheel. And I got new ARP flywheel bolts and ARP pressure plate bolts. Speaking of clutches, guessing your truck has the pot metal bushings in the clutch/brake pedal bracket. Consider replacing with the bearing kit from Mustang Steve to tighten up the medals and make them work a little easier. My bushings were cracked allowing the pedals to wiggle side to side.

 

Times 10 on going with an aluminum intake and heads. I personally avoid Edelbrock since they have really gone stale, but a Performer RPM is a perfectly good intake (I'm running an older Street Dominator but you should look up Jay Brown's "Great FE Intake Comparo", a good resource if you are looking for an intake). Aluminum heads will improve drivability since you can maximize compression and advance timing more and not worry nearly as much about detonation.

Cam is a preference, I went a little overboard and am happy I did.

 

Thanks ya'll,
I know that it would be easier and more beneficial to replace the stock heads and intake for aluminum, I'm not completely apposed to the aluminum intake, but my goal was for this to look as period correct as I can under the hood, mostly because I want someone to say that a 360 was a dog and worthless, then I can take their money! But also its just the look I'm going for, if the power I'm looking for is possible with stock components that's my goal(400hp+ 450-500tq). This truck will be a date night truck, Sunday truck, and maybe a car show here and their. I just also want to smell burnt rubber when I punch the gas. Barry really didn't suggest the factory components just said that the Hp level I wanted was possible with them. I was just looking for some numbers of someone who has done a similar build as far as cam specs etc. Also just wanted to make sure I bought a clutch that could handle the power. One other thing was running 35" tires I'm wondering that with this kind of power do I need to change my gears currently I believe they are 3.50 or 3.55 in the ford 9" out back?

 

For comparison, I haven't seen many FE's (if any) of folks going with aluminum heads and iron intake but have seen a few with iron heads with the rpm intake compared to survival or bbm aluminum heads with an rpm intake. When going with a truck type power band of peak torque around 3000 rpms and peak hp around 5000 I've seen around 30 more lbft of peak torque in a 445 cube and around 100 more peak hp with aluminum heads vs OEM iron. Remember, the hp peak is in the low 5000's where you may or may not see very often in a pickup with a NP435 tranny. So if you never plan to go above say 4000 rpms, you may not feel the benefit of the aluminum heads. If racing or spending time in the higher rpms, then definitely get the aluminum heads...they're pretty good out of the box and better with porting.

The organic RAM 98769 I'm using holds over 600 lb ft of torque...used for towing and hauling. Might want a different clutch if you want to drag race.

 

If I would have painted the heads and intake on my 447 FE it would fool all but the ones in the know. The color, air cleaner, power steering and electric fan radiator are a hint to not stock but not screaming stroker. The factory valve covers will clear a roller rocker set up.
CStoyer

 

I agree with the post, but I will say that having the HP above 5,000 rpm is actually useful with the old farmer 4-speed. It stretches each gear when you are getting up to highway speed.

 

Ha ! Now that's about the best description of the NP435 that I've ever heard

1st gear is only good for starting a heavy trailer on a hill or crawling in a pasture field...and I'm glad it's there because I use it in those instances. It takes about 3 days to shift from 2nd to 3rd due to the long throw. And the difference between 3rd and 4th is almost too much if pulling a heavy load. I do like my NP435 for being tough. Adding a gear vendor made the 3rd to 4th gap a lot better for towing and adds an overdrive to 4th for interstate cruising.

 

OP, what is your budget including all the supporting stuff like clutch and so on? To get to 450 hp you will have replace everything but the block.

With big power/torque you can get away with the lazy 3.50 gears and 35" tires. Or at least for awhile depending on how you use it.